“Declined”: Mastercard and Visa Suspends Operations in Russia Over Invasion of Ukraine

• The Russian economy has been dealt another blow after Mastercard and Visa announced they would cease operations in the country
• Sanctions in combination with a number of multinational companies ceasing operations in Russia has resulted in the Russian economy going into freefall
• The chief of the Central Bank of Russia announced that Russian economy was under significant stress

MOSCOW - Mastercard and Visa have suspended their operations in Russia due to the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

This latest blow to the Russian economy means that Mastercard credit cards will no longer work at Russian merchants or at bank ATMs.

Visa has also said that it would cease all transactions in the near future. Visa credit cards issued outside of Russia would no longer work inside the country according to SABC News.

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ANC slams EU for "excessively harsh and severe" sanctions on Russia, SA holds divided views

A growing list of international companies is suspending their operations with Russia due to its aggressive unprovoked invasion of a sovereign state. Puma, IKEA, Apple and Microsoft have joined in the condemnation of Russia's invasion and ceased operations in the country according to The Sun.

Elvira Nabiullina, the chief of the Central Bank of Russia wore black during a press conference. She admitted that the Russian economy was under extreme stress.

The Central Bank has lost access to approximately $630 billion (R9.7 trillion) due to sanctions, which could have helped protect the rouble.

ANC slams EU for "excessively harsh and severe" sanctions on Russia

Earlier, Briefly News reported that the African National Congress (ANC) weighed in on the European Union (EU)'s sanctions on Russia amid Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

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Singapore comdemns Russian invasion of Ukraine, introduces sanctions

In the last several days, the political and economic union of 27 member states suspended the distribution of news broadcasts from the Kremlin's Russia Today (RT) and Sputnik across the EU, citing the State-controlled outlets were "disinformation and information manipulation assets."

However, South Africa's ruling party insists the sanctions on Russia and its media operations, among others, was draconian. The ANC has since called on the EU to justify its position, News24 reported.

"The party notes the draconian sanctions imposed on Russia following the escalation of hostilities between the country and Ukraine. The EU's decision resulted in MultiChoice, which operates DStv, GOtv and Showmax, unilaterally removing RT from its services," said ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe.

Source: Briefly News